There are a variety of types of packages in which consumer products are delivered to consumers. For many products, the package not only functions as a practical means for transporting and storing the product but also serves as a communication link between the seller and the consumer. Indicia such as labeling, stylized graphics, use of color and contrast, and touch and feel are all signals that can help consumers select the products they desire and forge a strong bond between the consumers and the brands of goods they purchase.
Many types of product packages do not allow the consumer to see the product contained therein. This can present a problem for retailers because consumers may open the package in the store to visually inspect the goods. In the worst cases, the consumer opens the package, determines the goods are not satisfactory, and leaves the opened package on the shelf. Some consumers even open a package to inspect the goods and then select an unopened package for purchase. In either case, if the package is for goods such as bandages, tissues, diapers, catamenial devices, food products, cosmetics, medicines, cleaning supplies, or detergents, the retailer is left with an opened package that may no longer be suitable for sale.
One common method for helping consumers select the right product is to design the package such that the consumer can see the product while the product is still in the package without opening the package. Packages can be formed from clear or translucent materials through which the product can be seen. A drawback to packages formed of clear or translucent materials is that the attractiveness of the product package may be less than desired because the product contained in the package can interfere with the indicia on the exterior of the package.
To overcome this deficiency, some consumer products are packaged in containers having windows through which the consumer can see the product, with the remainder of the package devoted to other means for the connecting the seller with the consumer, such as indicia. For instance, cardboard containers for spaghetti often have a window cutout that is covered with a clear film through which the consumer can see the spaghetti and judge its quality and suitability. Sellers of some types of cookies package the cookies in clear packages and indicia do not cover the entire package, thereby allowing the consumer to the see the cookies in the package without opening the package.
Many products, such as diapers, sanitary napkins, and laundry detergent are packaged in film bags. To support the highest quality artwork and indicia on the outside of the package, metal impregnated and metalized films are often used. These types of films can be essentially opaque and can be bright white or any other color desired. Thus, color of the product contained within the package does not interfere with the message conveyed on the exterior of the container. The solid color serves as the canvas upon which any indicia such as labeling, color, images, graphics or the like can be printed. One drawback to using opaque films in packaging is that the consumer is unable to see the product contained therein and the previously mentioned problems associated with consumers inspecting the contents can arise.
Printed clear or low opacity films are an alternative to opaque films and can enable consumers to see the products contained in a package. Areas of the package are left unprinted to form windows through which the consumer can see the product. In a typical application, a layer of high opacity white ink is printed over portions of the clear or translucent bag to provide for opacity. Then, additional printing on the white can be used for indicia such as labeling, artwork or the like. The white printed film forms the canvas upon which any color desired can be printed. For example, individual wrappers for sanitary napkins can be color coded to correspond with particular levels of absorbency and a window in the package can allow the consumer to see the color of the wrapper of the individual sanitary napkins without opening the package. Printed clear or low opacity films can also be designed to have opacity that varies from region to region, thereby allowing package designers to use variable opacity of the package as a design element.
The level of opacity that can be achieved by printing high opacity white over a clear or translucent film can be as high as 60 to 80%. This level of opacity can be insufficient to prevent color shifting of the printing on the exterior of the package. Color shifting of external indicia can be particularly problematic for goods that have different colors than the colors of the external indicia. Color shifting can also be a problem when the goods are individually wrapped in a material having a color that differs from the colors presented on the exterior of the package. Furthermore, color shifting can occur as the package is emptied, leaving the full portion of the package having one color and the emptied portion of the package having another color. Color shifting of external indicia, such as labeling, artwork, graphics, and the like can be a problem for sellers who use color to communicate with the consumer. Sellers may desire consistent coloring of their brand in all of the communications they have with consumers through print media, video, product packaging, and product placement to build and maintain consistent brand equity. Inconsistent colors amongst various media can weaken the power of the brand. Clear or translucent rigid printed substrates for products such as detergent, motor oil, rice, juice, and the like are subject to these same limitations.
For some products, labeling, artwork, indicia, and the like appear on both the exterior and interior of the package. To prevent the indicia on the interior of the package from interfering with the indicia on the exterior of the package and vice versa, it can be necessary to use a laminated film structure having a highly opaque core to stop the interference. Laminated films can be difficult and expensive to manufacture because the layers must be joined and more layers of film are required to form the product package.
Some consumer products packaged in film containers may also react with ink printing on the interior of the package. For instance, some detergents can react with inks used to print on the interior of film packages. A laminated package can be used to overcome this problem by covering the printed film on the product side of the package with a clear or translucent material to protect the indicia visible on the interior of the package without obscuring the indicia.
In light of the above, there is a continuing unaddressed need for opaque printed substrates that can be made with clear or low opacity films.
Additionally, there is a continuing unaddressed need for substrates having opacity that varies from region to region on the film.
Furthermore, there is a continuing unaddressed need for high opacity printed substrates in which windows can be left to allow consumers to see the contents of packages formed with opaque printed substrates.
Additionally, there is a continuing unaddressed need for high opacity printed substrates made of clear or low opacity substrates on which printing can be made on both sides of the opaque printed substrate without using a laminated substrate.